A year ago, Albert Gonzalez confessed to having led an operation that stole more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers by hacking into computers at TJ Maxx and other retailers and was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Now he wants his conviction overturned on the grounds that the US Secret Service authorized him to do it.
In a habeas corpus petition filed on March 24, Gonzales writes, “I still believe that I was acting on behalf of the United States Secret Service and that I was authorized and directed to engage in the conduct I committed as part of my assignment to gather intelligence and seek out international cybercriminals. ... I now know and understand that I have been used as a scapegoat to cover someone’s mistakes.”
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